In branding, names are…well, not everything. But a lot. I should know. I just got married this summer and changed my name from Elizabeth Scarborough to Elizabeth Johnson (Scarborough is now my middle name). Was it wise to put “Scarborough” in the name of our company? At the time, it seemed an obvious choice, and the decision to name the firm SimpsonScarborough was made in an instant. But 10 years later, the name of our company is a combination of the last name of my dear departed business partner, Christopher Simpson, and my children’s last name. Works out great for them if they ever decide to join the firm.
I’m not the only one who struggles with my organization’s brand name. Many colleges and universities have challenging names. In fact, we’ve worked on five research projects designed to explore institutional name changes. And we’re asked to study names all the time; it’s an issue that comes up with close to half of all the client institutions we serve. Some institutions struggle with location-based names: University of Missouri-Rolla very successfully changed its name to Missouri S&T in 2008 and has been thriving ever since. Some struggle with overly long names: GMI Engineering & Manufacturing Institute changed to Kettering University in 2008. Some institutions consider new names to honor donors: Paul Smith’s College plans to change its name to honor a major donor. Other names are just downright confusing: Delaware Valley University (in Pennsylvania) and Miami University (in Ohio). Try explaining to high school kids that Miami was a university before Florida was even a state and let me know when you’ve pulled all the hair out of your eyebrows.
Some name challenges are just frustrating, but others are dangerous and lead to mission-critical missed opportunities. What happens when the name of your institution is similar to the name of another institution that is involved in a highly controversial and very public lawsuit? What happens when one of your most prominent professors is introduced incorrectly at an international symposium because the name of your institution is just downright confusing and hard to remember? What happens when a video that incorrectly identifies the name of your institution goes viral? These scenarios happen frequently within our industry, and with all the named buildings and endowed chairs we have in higher education, there are plenty of opportunities for other issues.
In higher education, there are a few name change considerations that are absolutely critical:
- Can you afford it? Name changes are expensive. If you can’t afford to market the institution aggressively through a name change, you shouldn’t even consider it in the first place.
- How much brand equity is tied up in your existing name? Even a bad name may have a great deal of existing equity.
- Does the name change send the message that your institution is weak? Changing a name immediately following bad press or years of enrollment declines is likely to send the wrong message.
For us, SimpsonScarborough will remain SimpsonScarborough. There is too much equity tied up in our name to change it. We will continue to honor our founding partner, Christopher, for he set us on a course that we continue to follow to this day. Furthermore, the name “SimpsonScarborough” has come to represent not just Christopher or me, but all the intelligent and hardworking people in our firm who deliver the highest quality work product to our clients on a daily basis. SimpsonScarborough is 20 people, rather than two, who represent quality analytics, thoughtful strategy, brilliant creative, and collaboration with clients. The name stays.
Elizabeth Johnson can now be reached at esj@simpsonscarborough.com.
